Costume

Curious characters were on the move Wednesday at Holy Redeemer School in Montrose. Children portraying Luke Skywalker, sea monsters and a human Rubik’s Cube were among the participants in the annual school-wide Halloween festivities, which included a costume parade and a mummy-wrapping contest. Principal Susan Fite said the Halloween activities at the school are trumped in size and popularity only by the Christmas celebrations. At least 100 parents showed up to cheer on their costumed children at the 200-student school, which has kindergarten through eighth grade.

I?m not real enthusiastic about dressing up for Halloween. For some reason, I just can?t seem to muster the energy required to get it together, even though there?s still more than a week to prepare. About the best I can do this year is wear a terry cloth robe and scraggly beard like my favorite Coen Brothers underachiever, Jeffrey Lebowski. I must point out that I wasn?t always this way. There was a time when I enjoyed Halloween. I was brought up with a much higher respect for the day than I now display.

By Mark Kellam and Joshua Cox, Times Community News | October 23, 2012

Halloween pop-up stores have again bloomed throughout Glendale and Burbank - with customers inspecting Spider-Man costumes nestled between bowls of fake spiders - but there is less horror this year, at least for landlords. As the local real estate market begins to improve, there are simply fewer places for the itinerant businesses to land. Glendale-based Halloween Time used to have stores on Honolulu Avenue in Montrose, at Pacific Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale and in the former Mervyn's department store downtown, said Patrick Abed, manager of the store on North Brand Boulevard.

Cathy Rosati was carrying an abnormally large chick in her arms Saturday afternoon. Joey, her 13-month-old son, was zipped into a baby chicken costume for the Kenneth Village Fall Festival, smiling and gurgling in the bright yellow, round outfit. “He’s probably like, ‘Get me out of this thing’,” Rosati, of Santa Clarita, said as she bounced him a bit. A small tuft of feathery yellow on the headpiece of his costume leaned in the breeze. Warm weather, early trick-or-treating, raffles, live music, refreshments and a costume parade were some of the highlights at this year’s 16th annual Fall Festival in the village.

There was a whole lot of Halloween Hoopla going on Friday at Pacific Park Community Center. Visitors to the center laughed while playing carnival-type games and the goblins were out and about. "I like the costume and how the bow-tie goes," said Sergio Muro, a seventh-grader dressed as Jack Skellington, a character from "Nightmare Before Christmas." "It's fun dressing up as other people." Sergio's friend Artash Sughyan came as the Grim Reaper. "I want to be scary for Halloween," said Artash, a sixth-grader at Edison Elementary School.

Janine Marnien Model trains will pull into Descanso Gardens this weekend for the Pumpkin Express. Costume parades will be held Saturday and Sunday for children who come in costume. Children can also ride the Pumpkin Express for $1.50 a ride, or participate in arts-and-crafts activities. Model trains will be on display from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. both days. Crafts will take place from 1 to 3 p.m. both days, and costume parades will be at 10 and 11 a.m. both days.

The Ice House presents Rudy Moreno who will host a spooky and kooky edition of Latino Comedy Showcase on Halloween Night, Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 8:30 p.m. The evening will include a showcase of six comics, a costume contest and trick-or-treat goodies for everyone at the show. Everyone is invited to dress up in their best costume and head to The Ice House for some Halloween fun with a comic twist. Patrons are encouraged to enter the Latino Comedy Fan costume contest where prizes will be awarded for scariest costume, most unique costume and best all-around costume.

Karen S. Kim SOUTHEAST GLENDALE -- Before hitting the streets to forage for candy and treats, children and teens are invited to participate Wednesday in a free costume contest and Spook Museum Walk offered by Maple Park Community Center. Awards will be doled out in different age categories for most original, scariest, funniest, cutest and best homemade costume. The contest runs from 5 to 6 p.m. and is open to children 15 years and younger. Contestants must register first, by calling 548-2788.

Superman waved at the walking gas pump, grim reapers ran down the street with princesses, and an enormous dog dressed in a ballerina tutu sat graciously as children pet her head. Only in Montrose, during the annual Spooktacular, could this scene be considered normal. The event, which was co-sponsored by the Montrose Shopping Park and city of Glendale Parks and Recreation Dept., gave community members a safe but spooky way to celebrate Halloween on Wednesday night. Honolulu Avenue was barricaded from Ocean View Boulevard to Verdugo Boulevard.

They came in myriad costumes, from unique and beautiful to scary and bizarre. There were witches, goblins, princesses, skeletons and superheroes. Whether they created their own costume or purchased an unusual or traditional one, students and teachers at Crescenta Valley High School and Rosemont Middle School made the most of the once-a-year costume event and strutted their stuff around their school grounds in true Halloween spirit. At the middle school, students made the most of the annual Halloween dance after classes on Wednesday.

By Mark Kellam and Joshua Cox, Times Community News | October 23, 2012

Halloween pop-up stores have again bloomed throughout Glendale and Burbank - with customers inspecting Spider-Man costumes nestled between bowls of fake spiders - but there is less horror this year, at least for landlords. As the local real estate market begins to improve, there are simply fewer places for the itinerant businesses to land. Glendale-based Halloween Time used to have stores on Honolulu Avenue in Montrose, at Pacific Avenue and Glenoaks Boulevard in Glendale and in the former Mervyn's department store downtown, said Patrick Abed, manager of the store on North Brand Boulevard.

Has Halloween snuck up on you this year? Only to scare you since you don't have a costume yet for tonight's festivites. Eagle Rock Patch has compiled some pretty good last-minute ideas. Woman's ashes stolen from SUV found A woman's ashes stolen from a parked SUV at a shopping center in Woodland Hills last Monday were returned to the same parking lot Sunday, the Daily News reported. Security guards at the shopping center at the Westfield Promenade found a duffel bag with a container of the ashes in the parking lot, the newspaper reported.

I was at a sales meeting last week, which put me far enough from Glendale to keep me away from the local news. Sure, I could have gone online and checked out the goings-on. But had I done so, I would have missed this morning's online navigation of top stories, which included, “Indecent Exposure, Purse Snatching and Taylor Swift” - a veritable smorgasbord of comment-worthy news. This week, it certainly proved to be fruitful to catch up all at once. In case you were out of town like me, here's what went down: Local residents reported seeing a man masturbating in front of an apartment building.

Alice in Wonderland and an army of undead people have taken over empty retail spaces in Glendale as the Halloween shopping season kicks into high gear. At least five Halloween costume stores have opened: one at the former Blockbuster Video site on Glendale Avenue, another at the former Mervyns site at Brand Boulevard and Broadway, a third on Broadway near Brand, a fourth on Central Avenue at Lexington Drive and a fifth in Montrose. The temporary shops are part of an annual craze worth big dollars.

Regarding Maria Smart's Aug. 9 letter, "Drivers must be slowed," we should all be saddened by the actions of a reckless driver who struck and injured her mother on Glendale roads. However, apparently, Smart did not actually read the two articles in the Glendale News-Press that she sites as she criticizes Councilman John Drayman in her anger at the driver who struck her mother. In the first article, Drayman stated that police resources should be placed out in the community busting speeders and reckless drivers rather than dressing police personnel in rabbit costumes ("Sting like a bunny, April 1)

Sin City. The City of Lights. A gambler’s paradise. Las Vegas is many things for many people. But for the students in JK’s Dance Company, Las Vegas means only one thing: dance. About 70 dancers, ranging in age from 8 to 17, have been practicing 114 numbers, two days a week, for the past four months in anticipation of the Las Vegas Encore Performing Arts regional competition in June. The rehearsal room at Revolution Dance studio, owned by Julie Kay Stallcup, was packed Wednesday with students, each wearing the dance company’s red and black uniform, comprising a red JK’s Dance Company logo-emblazoned shirt with black tights.

It was just another day at Columbus Elementary School as cowboys, ghosts, soldiers, Star Wars characters and a jellyfish played tetherball and shared their lunch. All grade levels participated in a Halloween parade and costume contest Friday. Winners were awarded certificates for the funniest, most creative and most original costumes, but all participants walked away with a Halloween-inspired pencil. “I’m looking for creativity,” said Cay Ledesma, a teacher and judge.

I?m not real enthusiastic about dressing up for Halloween. For some reason, I just can?t seem to muster the energy required to get it together, even though there?s still more than a week to prepare. About the best I can do this year is wear a terry cloth robe and scraggly beard like my favorite Coen Brothers underachiever, Jeffrey Lebowski. I must point out that I wasn?t always this way. There was a time when I enjoyed Halloween. I was brought up with a much higher respect for the day than I now display.

If you walked through the halls of Rosemont Middle School on Oct. 31, you may see few faces you recognize. That is because Halloween transformed the school into a world of make-believe where cartoon characters, past presidents, Olympic teams, strange monsters, cowboys, indians and boxes of crayons replace the usual staff and student body. During snack in the morning, students, teachers, and support staff assembled in the school’s amphitheatre where recognition was given to favorites in categories such as scariest, funniest, most original and best group in an informal contest judged by student applause.

Twelve-year-old Aida Talulian had been thinking about her Egyptian princess costume for several weeks, knowing that she would enter Friday’s Halloween costume contest at Maple Park. Her thoughtfulness was rewarded Friday with large trophy, which she won for Most Original Costume. “Since I was little, I really liked everything that was Egyptian,” Aida said. “I am obsessed with ancient Egyptian stuff.” Aida was one of about 100 children who entered Maple Park’s Halloween costume contest, park Coordinator John Maghaguian said.